Sisters adopt siblings as part of Weld County Adoption Day

Alisha Truitt, 3, can't hold back her excitement as she sits with her adopted mother, Marla Truitt, and receives a stuffed animal during their adoption hearing Friday at the Weld County Courthouse. Alisha's brother, Kaden, was also adopted by Truitt's sister, Misti Tarnowski, and her family.

A total of 17 children from ages 1 to 17 years old were adopted into 13 different families during Friday’s adoption hearings in Weld County.

Now in its 14th year, National Adoption Day — officially held on Nov. 22 — continues to be a highlight for nearly everyone involved in child welfare services.

Judge Marcelo Kopcow said the smiles and festivities that coincide with each case make the sometimes difficult job even more rewarding.

Weld County commissioners proclaimed Friday Weld County Adoption Day and said it should be used to highlight national efforts to raise awareness about the importance of adoption and recognize everyone involved in the lengthy process.

More than 4,500 children nationwide were adopted during last year’s adoption day.

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Alisha Truitt, 3, and her 15-month-old brother Kaden Tarnowski are probably too young to know how unique their situations were when they headed into the courtroom Friday.

But their parents — Marla and Joe Truitt and Misti and Steve Tarnowski — were well aware of how special it was for the children to be adopted into “forever families.”

More importantly, they knew how special it was to keep the kids together, even given what everyone called “unique” circumstances.

Misti and Marla are sisters. And sisters talk. So when the Truitts were told they could adopt Alisha, it wasn’t long before the Tarnowskis started having conversations about adopting Alisha’s younger brother. Those talks became reality Friday, when sisters Marla and Misti and their husbands adopted Alisha and Kaden, who suddenly became cousins in addition to siblings.

The story began about three years ago when a man walked into a church seeking child care for his granddaughter, Alisha. Joe was serving as an associate pastor at Rocky Mountain Christian Church that day and told the man they didn’t offer child-care services. But, he said, his wife often took care of kids during the days and the couple offered to help in any way they could.

Alisha was timid at first, Marla remembered. But during the course of about six months of spending time with her a couple days each week, the Truitts and Alisha started to bond and build a special kind of relationship.

And then it all stopped.

Alisha suddenly quit coming to the Truitts. They didn’t know why, and they didn’t hear from her or anyone else for several months until, out of the blue, a caseworker called them and said they were searching for a family to take care of Alisha and eventually adopt her.

“It took no thinking whatsoever,” Marla said, before she and dozens of family and friends from across the country on Friday streamed into Judge Marcelo Kopcow’s courtroom for the formal adoption ceremony.

Meanwhile, Marla’s sister, Misti, and her husband already had two girls of their own — Mylie, 13, and Kenna, 10. When they learned Alisha’s younger brother was also up for adoption, they were a little more hesitant.

But it wasn’t long before caseworkers got the ball rolling and it became clear the two children would be put in separate families that weren’t really that separate at all.

“I would have never thought that I would have had a little brother,” Mylie said during the proceedings.

With stuffed animals perched on courtroom banisters and a stockpile of new toys in the corner, Mylie fought back tears as she described “playing swords” with Kaden during the past several months.

Cathy Kolthoff was the ongoing caseworker in Alisha’s case. She said she worked especially hard to ensure Alisha and Kaden could be kept together.

That meant a lot of stress and a lot of challenges, she admitted, but the outcome, in her mind, couldn’t have been any better.

“This is a really special day for me. To see it finally end like this, it just warms your heart,” she said as the entire family — everyone — gathered for their first official group photos. ”They’re a great family.”

Kaden and Alisha may have gone into the courtroom Friday as brother and sister and walked out as cousins, but don’t think they will be far apart. Misti and Marla live just a few blocks from one another, and they have big plans for the holidays, which have suddenly become a little more crowded.

As Alisha ran around the first floor of the courthouse and Kaden did a shuffle-turned-stumble trying to keep up, Marla said sometimes things just work out.

This case is evidence of that, she said, and while some people believe it was a coincidence how well things worked out, she credits the family’s faith.